Blues Views: Dixie Peach's Blues With Friends

Longevity has definitely had its place where this 40 year old aggregation is concerned: perseverance, tenacity, the ability to incorporate objective change with the passage of time, concurrently allowing no musical fad de jour to infiltrate Dixie Peach's Macon, Georgia blues school approach without time worn collective scrutiny. These guys know what fits, what has worked for this sextet time and time again.

Ira Stanley, an Allman and Cooder slide progenitor of the first rank, has used the passage of time in much the same fashion that a maturing visual artist knows what strokes make the statement and what color isn't necessary. In other words, no wasted notes or space.

Formed by Tony Paulus, Mike Rousculp and Stanley in 1972 as a north of the Mason Dixon line living breathing guitar driven entity, the Peach continues to pays tribute to the Macon Magicians, but simultaneously presents an infinite musical canvas that opens as wide as the East Dayton musicians' capabilities allow. These guys have never stopped growing/learning and applying four decades of life experiences into a rich indigo montage.

I've been following this guy's career since he first picked up a guitar, granted that's an oft used journalistic ploy, and it's usually fabricated. In this particular application, it couldn't be truer. If I dwell to deeply on it, I start to feel a bit aged. One very significant aspect of this Blues magic that guitarist extraordinaire Eric Jerardi weaves so well is its/his sense of timelessness.

In the debut edition of Shake's Hall Pass, The Eric Jerardi Band (Eric Jerardi, Gary Gates and Adam Wheeler) visited the WYSO studios for a live performance. The trio chatted with Hall of Fame Blues host Shakin' Dave Hussong about recording, guitar playing and inspiration, and their shared blues history.